From Ash to Flame
by PheonixDown
Summary: In the world of Dragon Quest IX, new adventures await you! As a fallen celestrian, Phoenix needs to return home, and maybe save the world on the way. Yeah, lame summary, I know. c: Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

This is the first story I`m putting up on here, so hopefully it isn`t too bad! It`s based on some experiences me and a couple friends had playing Dragon Quest IX, so I`m kinda hoping the pacing will be all right when it`s just a lot of stories mixed together. Despite that, it will be an adventure with a sense of chronology and just one main character. I`d be happy to put in any original characters of yours as side characters or just incorporate them in some way, just pm me or leave a review. If you catch me early, I wouldn`t mind making one a party member, as I`m thinking I`m not going to include any from me or my friend`s personal playthroughs as to mix things up a little. So without further ado-  
*squints at script* Oh, wait, hold on. *ahem* Dragon Quest does not belong to me. Obviously. All credit to the creators.  
Anyway, hope you enjoy! 

Two angels flew side by side. While continuing to stare intently at the road below him, the taller heavenly being, a bald and experienced looking man, middle-aged by celestrian standards, spoke to his younger companion. "I`m proud of your progress so far." The small celestrian grinned eagerly. She had a slim build, severely lacking in muscle, as her elders told her. Her short blue hair and sapphire eyes contrasted greatly against the conservative colors of her celestrian attrire. All except one thing... "Phoenix." The older celestrian snapped. "Is that a mortal head covering?" Blushing deeply, the angel quickly whipped a blue bandana off of her cerulean locks. "Sorry Aquila! I forgot!" The celestrian in question pursed his lips disapprovingly. "How can you be a proper guardian when you spend all your time fussing about mortal matters? Maybe I should ask Apus Major to reconsider..." Panic flooded Phoenix`s elfish face. "No, no, Aquila! I`m ready! Mortals are just...interesting! They`re a silly distraction! I`ll stop picking up their things!" Shaking his head, the bald guardian turned to face the road again.

"Well, here`s a chance to prove yourself. Look." Phoenix saw two mortals strolling down the path, chatting. Aquila was obviously uninterested in their conversation, but Phoenix hung on every word. One of the mortals, an old man sighed to his companion. "Never grow old, Erinn, my dear." The young lady accompanying him laughed. "Oh, grandpa, the town isn`t much further now." The bluenette wore an orange bandana that Phoenix coveted longingly in addition to a lacy mostly white frock with an apron. It had quite obviously been through the wringer. Observing them cheerfully, Phoenix let her eyes follow the path further to a large stone of cool gray which, as she realized with a jolt, concealed two slimes and a cruelcumber waiting to ambush the travellers. "Alright, Phoenix. If you`re so ready to be Angel Falls` guardian, it`s time to protect your flock!" Flying down on graceful wings, Aquila unsheathed a shimmering broadsword. Phoenix followed clumsily, adjusting her halo and yanking out a copper sword. She tried to swing it at one of the surprised slimes, but her awkward grip of the weapon caused her to miss. There was no way around it. Phoenix was no swordswoman. Gritting her teeth and readjusting her grip, she lifted the long blade shakily, and swung the overly heavily blade at the gooey monster hacking awkwardly with the heavy sword as her small hands tried to keep up. This time, the blade connected despite the slime`s best efforts to hop away, and it disappeared in a puff of gold and purple. Pride swelled in her chest at the feat, but was quickly extinguished as she saw Aquila obliterate the cruelcumber with a nonchalant swing. The elders always said that Aquila was a natural. Desperate to prove herself to her mentor, Phoenix made a wide and rather awkward swing, slamming the remaining slime into the rock and bashing it repeatedly before realizing that she`d been whacking it uselessly with the blunt side. With a final stab, she watched the monster burst into smoke.

She sighed, sagging, tired from swinging the sword that was gargantuan compared to her. Aquila, however, smiled softly and pat her on the top of her pastel blue head of hair, watching the pair pass by to the gate of the quaint little town of Angel Falls. "See?" said Erinn. "We`re here! And I just know it was thanks to our guardian!" She spared a moment to kneel and speak aloud. "Many thanks to our protector of Angel Falls, Phoenix! May the almighty be with you!" Beaming, Erinn got back to her feet and walked her grandfather to the gate, leaving behing a shimmering blue crystal suspended in the air. "Benevolessense, mortal gratitude." explained Aquila. "We should take it back to the observatory." Phoenix eagerly embraced the sparkling wonder so beautifully addressed to her and felt it dissolve into her. Aquila smiled again. "You`ve done well, my apprentice. Are you ready to return for now?" "Yup!" Phoenix followed her mentor on newly reinvigored wings into the bright heavens. Feeling the dazzling sunlight and the breeze on her short cerulean hair, Phoenix was ready for anything the future had in wait for her!

Yaaay, first chapter! Kinda short, yeah, but it took forever. Due to some complications, I`ve had to rewrite this twice, and Im a bit disappointed to say that I think the first two drafts were better. I should be on track now though! I`ll try to add a chapter once a week, but the SAT is coming up for me, so we shall see. As you can probably tell from the similarities to my username, I used the name of my character from my game for this story, even though they`re nothing alike. It`s just easier since I'm used to it. It was convenient because all the celestrians are based off of bird constellations, and there is indeed a constellation named Phoenix! I appreciate any R&Rs, this is the first story I`ve ever put online, and remember to send your original characters if you are so inclined! c: Until then, I`ll see you next time I come back from the dead!


	2. Chapter 2

Well hello there again! If you're here from the last chapter, welcome back! I don`t have too much intro this time, so let`s just get onto it, shall we?

*I don't own anything except Phoenix*

Phoenix followed her mentor in flight, beating her wings with great effort, as they rose to the shimmering sky sparkling with dusk`s colors. As the Observatory came into view, Phoenix saw a brilliant glow from one of the tallest plateaued spires rising from the sprawling building. Golden leaves stood out almost individually even from the views of the two celestrians as they gazed upon the source of the light. The leaves covered the thick branches of a gorgeous tree, sturdy and sparkling. Phoenix gasped as the emanating light from the majestic tree waned and revived repeatedly, creating a grand scene across the horizon of deepest purple. Flying upwards into the entryway of the observatory, Phoenix dropped to the ground, barely keeping her balance steady at the jolt, as she exited the star shaped hole in the floor that allowed her access. Aquila had already landed gracefully and strode in the direction of Columba`s, another older celestrian`s, quarters. Phoenix felt panic rise in her chest. "Aquila!" She wailed just loud enough for him to hear her. "Aren`t you coming with me to see Apus Major?" Aquila turned and shook his head, smiling softly. "You`re taking over Angel Falls, right, Guardian Phoenix? I thought you could handle it today." Phoenix wanted to whine about how much Apus Major, or any authority figure for that matter, scared her, but she desperately wanted to impress her now former mentor, so she swallowed her complaints and nodded with a shaky grin. Tripping over herself a bit, she bustled off to the old celestrian`s chamber. Opening the heavy door quietly, Phoenix shyly glanced into the room. "S-sir! I mean, uh, that`s not right...um, Apus Major...sir...?" Phoenix sighed. "...I`m back..." The short, shout, well-bearded celestrian didn`t seem to take any notice of the young cerulean haired angel`s flustered mutterings. "Ah, Phoenix, apprentice of Aquila, well met!" At the notice of the apprentice`s abashed expression, Apus Major proclaimed heartily, "What is it? Don`t tell me your absence has been so lengthy that you`ve forgotten your old mentor?" Phoenix tried to amend the situation quickly. "N-no, of course not! I just thought-" She was interrupted however, when Apus Major noticed with a grin the brilliant blue glow emanating softly around her. "Ah, so you collected some benevolessence? All the better! As you may have seen on the way from the predocterate, the mighty Yggdrasil is on the verge of bearing fruit. Perhaps your benevolessence may push her over the edge. You should go offer it as soon as possible." Nodding enthusiastically, anything to escape the celestrian that terrified her so much, Phoenix took her leave and climbed the stairs to the world tree. A portly celestrian blocked the way up, and Phoenix groaned inwardly when she saw who it was. The purple haired celestrian grinned at her, but not in a friendly way, more like a 'I`m going to kill you, it`s only a matter of when' kind of way. Not really the best. "Hey, Ashes, where`s your bandana? Aren`t you supposed to be guarding the place, not raiding their dressers?" "Leo, move, I need to get to Yggdrasil. And Ashes? That`s not really your best work, it doesn`t make much sense." "Of course it does." He said snidely. "Maybe you could have been something useful before, but not you`re just burned up and worthless. It`s what happens to all Phoenixes." A sickening smirk on his face gave her a jolt as her worst nightmare was confirmed. "Hey, there's your bandana, Ashes." Leo swiped one enormous paw-like hand at her waist where the blue bit of fabric was tied. She quickly hopped backwards, but he snatched a second time, this time grabbing the front of her celestrian uniform and lifting her clear off the ground, seemingly without effort, his thick arms easily supporting her weight. With a little scream, she squirmed with futile efforts as Leo made quick work of untying the bandana at her waist. Dropping her, he held it above her head as Phoenix stumbled to the ground, then jumped up for her precious memento scrabbling hopelessly at his arm built like a tree trunk, on the verge of tears. Suddenly, she heard someone clear their throat behind her and she whipped around, cheeks scorched with embarrassment. To her surprise and relief, there stood Aquila. Her mentor stepped forward, holding out his hand. "I believe that`s Phoenix`s." Panic on his face, Leo quickly dropped the bit of fabric into Aquila`s outstretched hand and moved aside. "Thank you." the bald celestrian said, whisking Phoenix up the stairs, his arm around her shoulders. About halfway up, the mentor handed the bandana to his apprentice. "Phoenix, guardian of Angel Falls, at least keep this stuff out of sight." he said curtly. "You know most celestrians aren`t fond of mortals or their belongings. You`re lucky I wanted to see you offer up the benevolessence." Phoenix nodded sadly. And Aquila`s hard gaze softened. "Don`t listen to him. Many celestrians just don`t like that such a young celestrian like you is becoming a guardian. They`re squabbling like jealous mortals. Speaking of which, I meant to ask you something." "Yes, Aquila? What is it?" "I`m afraid it`s terribly awkward to call you 'Phoenix, guardian of Angel Falls' all the time. I hope you don`t mind me just calling you Phoenix unless the situation calls for it." The pastel haired celestrian nodded happily. "Yeah, that`s okay!" "Good. I`m glad you don`t mind, but even if you didn`t, a celestrian can`t disobey their superior, so it doesn`t really matter either way." With nothing else to say, the two angels scaled the stairs until they reached the peak, an enormous oakish tree with sprawling roots and a gnarled trunk. Its golden foliage sparkled with the radiance of the sun, it seemed to wait in anticipation. Aquila remained at the steps, watching, while Phoenix timidly took a few steps forward. As she reached her hand outward, her fingertips flared with heavenly blue light, nearly the exact shade of the young celestrian`s eyes, stunningly sapphire. The light seemed to coagulate in that moment, wrapping her ivory hands in the fierce glow. As though escaping, the ball of brought forth benevolessence flitted around Phoenix`s head before shooting off like a bluebottle into the trunk of the mighty Yggdrasil. The azure visibly spread like warmth throughout the tree, reaching the ends of the braches, twinkling cheerfully. Phoenix was so in awe of the sight, she hadn`t noticed Apus Major at her elbow. "She`s but a hair`s breadth from bearing fruit." he said, his voice catching. With a small jump, Phoenix responded in reverence, "Fruit? You mean the fyggs?" The stories of fyggs had been past through celestrian lore long before the young celestrian`s time, and inspired awe in everyone. "Yes." replied Apus Major. "Their bloom shall ferry the dawn of a new age, when the celestrians shall return to the almighty! And she`s so close!" He turned to face Phoenix fully. "If you hurry back to the predocterate, you may be able to gather more benevolessence tonight! I have no doubts that she would bear fruit with a few more crystals!"  
Phoenix nodded enthusiastically. "I`ll head down right now!" Bounding back down the stairs, Aquila followed. As they finally reached the entrance back into the observatory, a radiant bolt streaked across the sky. On closer inspection, it was a train, a shimmering locomotive that seemed to leave a trail of stardust in its wake. "The Starflight Express has been extremely active as of late...anyway-hurry to the predocterate, Phoenix. This is an honor for you. I only hope you're ready...although it might not matter soon. Go, Guardian of Angel Falls! And swiftly!" With a wave, Phoenix ran through the observatory doors and leaped through the star-shaped hole in the middle of the floor, soaring to the land below.

Sprinting back up the steps later after some adventures with a ring, a horse, and other assorted items, Phoenix carried benevolessence in her arms. As she once again reached the plateau, breathing hard, Aquila and Apus Major were waiting for her. With a yelp of joy, the ancient celestrian exclaimed, "Perfect! Now offer it up to Yggdrasil, the time is at hand!" Extending her arms, the crystals of mortal gratitude zoomed to the trunk, imbuing the branches in a fiery cerulean light, until...as the glow reached the end of the braches, a shimmer solidified into a gorgeous, full, and golden fruit. Yggdrasil`s beautiful branches grew heavy with the jeweled, pear-shaped adornments, and the tree sparkled fiercely...as Phoenix heard the loud and long sustained sound of a train`s whistle. The radiant train streaked like a comet behind Yggrasil, drawing closer. "The celestial carriage approaches!" Apus Major cried. "Soon we`ll be-" CRACK! Stormy, angry gray clouds had drawn together, and unleashed a red thunderbolt sizzling with raw power. It struck the golden train, smashing it apart. Sections of the locomotive, passenger cars, the engine, the caboose, fell like boulders to the earth below. Phoenix`s jaw dropped with terror, but it wasn`t over yet. A fierce tremor shook the observatory, and the jeweled fyggs were jostled from their branches, plummeting like tiny meteors as the celestrians looked on in horror, sprawling in pursuit of the fruit, but too late, as the too were lost. As was Phoenix`s balance. She had fallen to the ground, shaken to the edge of the observatory`s earth, unable to stand, to move her wings, anything but grab desperately, pulling up dirt and grass at her attempts. Finally seeing her struggle, Aquila reached out his hand for hers, panic on his face, as the ground crumbled beneath her, flailing frantically, Phoenix`s body sailed downwards, spiraling, shedding feathers as she attempted to flap her wings, to resist the drop of her stomach, as she plummeted into inky blackness, and out of sight.

Whoo! Long chapter! As you can probably tell by how I skipped a little, I`m kinda laboring under the impression that you`ve played dq9 before, but if you haven`t, don`t worry too much, as I won`t be skipping anything too plot important and I`m taking a couple creative liberties already. Because of this though, if it wasn`t already obvious, spoiler warning! I`ll be putting one in every chapter now since we`ve just finished up the intro. (And it`s a great game, so I`d suggest playing it first.) Just a reminder, I`m taking your guy`s character suggestions if you have any OCs you might want me to work in. I`d like to start getting the party together by chapter 4 or 5, and I still need a mage and a warrior for the main party. (I already have a priest, thanks to iamcalifornia! c:) A thief or something would be cool too! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and if so, remember to rate and review, I`ll see you next time I come back from the dead!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey there, I`m back! I don`t have much to say here, other than please rate and review if you happen to enjoy! *shameless begging* I`m very excited, I got a favorite and follow and the last chapter, and that`s kinda a big deal for me! Oh, and spoiler warning from here on out since we`re getting into the actual game. Well, that`s pretty much it!

**I don`t own DQ9! But I do own 2 copies of it... c: **  
Phoenix was heavy. It was the first thing she noticed when she came to. Her limbs felt like lead, bogging her movements to a sluggish drag. Not that she had much movement. Her very being protested from the effort of sweeping her slender fingers across the purest white sheets that she was laying on. Phoenix thought about that word for a couple minutes. Sheets. That was what mortals put on beds, right? So was she in a bed? Celestrians had no need for things like sleep, so the concept was a bit foreign, but exciting all the same. Mortals were truly fascinating. Unable to sit up, she had no way of investigating her surroundings, even when she heard the aqueak of a door opening and the bustle of entry. When the intruder came close enough to walk directly into Phoenix`s view, she had to hold back an audible gasp. It was that villager girl she had seen before with Aquila! What was her name? Oh, right, Erinn! Erinn smiled cheerfully at Phoenix, so she smiled back, ignoring the painful pull in her cheeks.

"Hi there! I`m Erinn!" the young lady said. "You took quite a tumble down that waterfall! Why were you up there anyway? You look like more of a minstrel than an explorer!" When Phoenix found herself unable to respond due to the weakness of her voice, Erinn continued. "I`m just surprised you`re alive! You must have the guardians watching over you!" Phoenix could thank her semi-immortality for that. "So what`s your name?" The young mortal asked kindly.

"Phoenix-" The celestrian managed to croak out. Erinn`s eyes widened.

"That`s the name of- oh? Never mind, don`t worry. I`m being silly. Why don`t you rest?" At the word, Phoenix suddenly felt even heavier. She fell asleep in an instant, dreaming she was drowning in rose petals.

...  
*one week later*

Phoenix was strolling around Angel Falls, enjoying the evening breeze. She had discovered the village shop, which held her undivided interest with all its baubles. She had quickly purchased a set of wayfarer`s clothes with her paltry sum of gold coins and was absolutely thrilled about how perfectly it matched her beloved bandana. She wanted a new weapon desperately, she had finally conceded that she was worthless with a sword, but she had no more gold coins, and there was no way Erinn would let her go fight monsters to earn some. Pondering her predicament, she walked by two boys whose conversation caught her attention.

"I'm telling you, it said Aqui- something before. It`s changed!"

"I dunno, Igor, it`s always said 'Phoenix' as long as I can remember." Phoenix looked at the guardian statue over which they were squabbling. It certainly didn`t look like her. Or even Aquila for that matter.

"Look," Igor said, making no attempts to whisper. "It`s that weird minstrel who`s turned up by Erinn`s place. Says her name`s Phoenix too, probably trying to get a free lunch or something acting like a guardian. At least she`s gotten rid of those ridiculous clothes." 'Why does everyone always have a problem with my clothes?' the celestrian thought irritably. "Of course Erinn ate that up, always on about guardians, isn`t she?"

"You sure you aren`t just jealous Erinn`s giving someone else more attention?"

"Shut up, you Wally!" Igor shouted clapping his hand over his friend`s mouth and glaring at Phoenix. Without a thought, the celestrian headed back to Erinn`s house, skipping as her pastel blue locks caught the light of a setting sun. Erinn coerced her into taking a nap, cooing about how quickly she had recovered and how tired she must be. Late that evening, as night was falling, Erinn came up to her room.

"Igor wants to talk to you, sorry, I can`t very well send him off, he knows you`re here, but it`ll only take a minute." Phoenix walked outside the house to where the blonde, well-built boy was standing.

"Hey, what you heard earlier, about Erinn, that`s not-" he snapped, cutting off. "I mean-there`s a favor I need to ask." Phoenix smiled despite the glare launched in her direction.

"Yep?" Igor looked surprised at her willingness, hesitating a bit before composing himself.

"Well, see, there`s this pass that connects Angel Falls to Stornway, but there was a landslide during that earthquake last week and now the pass is blocked. I figured everyone would be pretty impressed if I cleared it, but there`s monsters out there. I heard you minstrels are pretty handy in a scrap, so I thought you could tag along, be my bodyguard or whatever." Phoenix nodded.

"Okay!" Again Igor looked bewildered, but shook his head.

"Um-great! I`ll meet you by the town gate at noon tomorrow and we`ll go!"

...  
**the next day**

Sneaking out from under Erinn`s watchful gaze, Phoenix left the gate with Igor. Immediately greeted by wide lush fields, she ran excitedly down the path towards the pass until they were attacked by 3 slimes, and the two humans pulled out a copper sword each. Phoenix awkwardly swung her sword with renewed passion, missing the slimes, yes, but missing them happily. Igor didn`t look thrilled with his choice of a bodyguard. Finally making it to the pass, something caught Phoenix`s eye. No way...a part of the golden train she had seen from the observatory was laying on the opposite fork of the road. Mouth agape, she only reluctantly went the other way after Igor started yelling. A pile of dirt did indeed cover the pass. Well, pile was a bit of an understatement. It was a small mountain of dirt.

"So, uh...where do we start?" Igor asked.

"Hello there! Anyone there from Angel Falls?" came a response.

"Oh, yes, I`m Igor, no doubt you`ve heard of me."

"Oh good! We`re soldiers from Stornway, sent here to clear this pass. If you could let your village know it`ll be clear soon, that would be excellent."

"No problem, you can count on Igor!"

"Oh, and one other thing, has a woman named Patty come there? She`s gone missing. People were saying she tried to go through the hexagon since the pass was closed."

"That can`t be true, the hexagon`s been overrun with monsters for years now. No one`s used it since the pass was built."

"Oh, alright then, well if you wouldn`t mind asking around about her, I`d be much obliged."

"No problemo!" And with that, they set off back to Angel Falls.

...

Igor took quite a scolding from his father when they got back, and Phoenix was delivered back into Erinn`s care.

"Silly of Igor to drag you off on an adventure like that… But, um, it was Patty that you mentioned before...? Where have I heard that name...?" Erinn snapped her fingers. "Oh! It was the name of one of my father`s friends! I do hope she didn`t want to come see him, she must not have known he`s passed away." She hesitated. "Phoenix, could you maybe-" she shook her head. "What am I thinking? I can`t ask you to do something that dangerous! I`m sure she`ll turn up when the pass gets cleared!" But Phoenix already had a plan.

...

The next day, Phoenix was back at the shop, trying to see what kind of weapon she could buy with the gold she made on her excursion yesterday. She was rather frustrated with her limitations. She had always wanted to be a martial artist. She would always look down at mortals to try and decide how she would live as one, and her favorite mortals to watch were the masters of agility and tension. She got quite a chastisement from Aquila when he found out she was trying to imitate a master named Brusque Lee. Just her luck she`d turn out to be a minstrel.

"Sir, which one of these can be used by a martial artist?" If she couldn`t be one, she would definitely fight like one.

"Well, I suppose some martial artists fight with fans." He said, pointing to one made of pretty pink feathers.

"I`ll take that one!" Phoenix said with a grin, handing him a bag of gold.

...

Deep inside the hexagon, Phoenix was optimistic. She hadn`t found Patty yet, but she had already reached level 4 and had found several useful items in the dungeon. Entering a crumbling doorway, Phoenix saw a purple haired figured tugging at her dress. It appeared that her leg was trapped under a pile of rubble. As she entered, the lady turned towards her, breaking into a smile.

"Aw, sweetie, have you come to rescue me? Didn`t think anyone would come down here. Wouldja' mind helpin' me out here before that dreadful beast comes back?" Making a move towards the woman, Phoenix suddenly felt the ground shake, THUD, THUD, THUD. Phoenix fell back in terror. There stood an enormous monster, at least 15 feet tall. Its mossy body revealed a cracked grin full of jagged teeth. Phoenix knew in a moment, for reasons unbeknownst to her, that it was a hexagoon. With a mighty roar, it began to charge at Patty. The celestrian couldn't allow that. Stifling her pounding heart, she fluttered her feather fan violently, whipping up a rain of flower petals, triggering her flower power ability. They engulfed the hexagoon rapidly, seeming to swallow its massive form. Bellowing and shaking its head, however, the beast dispelled the storm easily. Despite that, it had its intended effect. The hexagoon lowered its curved, cruel horns and charged at Phoenix. She swiftly and smoothly dodged, slamming the fan into the monster's side. It howled, jumping in rage, and sending down a hail of pointed rocks, barely managing to avoid getting trapped under one, Phoenix took some heavy damage. She quickly slashed her weapon across the beast's hide, noting with satisfaction that she was performing much more proficiently than with swords. A howl sounded from the hexagoon as it tackled Phoenix in a rage, scoring enough damage to bring her to dangerous injuries. Casting a quick heal spell, she whacked at the beast's forehead- and with a final blood curdling screech, it dissolved into light.

Third one down! Bit of a plot and dialogue dump though, sorry about that! Just a quick reminder, I'm working on chapter 4 this week, (should be up on Monday if I can keep managing the upload schedule on Mondays) and I want to at least introduce all the party members in that chapter. With that said, if you'd like me to put one of your characters in the main party, I'll probably need information about them in a couple days so I have time to time them in properly, as I'd like the main characters to all be together by chapter 5 at the latest. Two lovely people have already sent in a priest and thief, but I need a warrior for sure, and possibly a mage as well! Please rate and review if you enjoyed, and thanks so much for reading! See you next time I come back from the dead!


	4. Chapter 4

I was super busy this week, which is why this`ll probably come out a bit late. I kinda expected to mess up my "upload on monday" schedule a little bit, but I`m a bit disappointed that it`s happening as early as the 4th chapter, although it`s due in part to the fact that I wanted this chapter to be pretty fleshed out, because I`m introducing the party members! *throws confetti* As such, there`s a bit of a time skip between this chapter and the last as to keep the pacing tight. Either way, worry not, as we`ll be back to our regularly scheduled monday uploads after this. I can only hope you enjoy this chapter to make up for the delay!  
**If you haven`t gotten it by now, I don`t own Dragon Quest. (unfortunately)**  
After several assorted incidents revolving around Phoenix assisting Patty`s escape from the hexagon and the repercussions, including the recruitment of Erinn at Stornway`s inn, the putting to rest of an unsettled spirit, and the meeting of a small, albeit rather feisty fairy, Phoenix was thrilled to make her way to Stornway, with the previously mentioned fairy, Stella, jabbering at her mercilessly as they travelled.  
"So if I`m really to believe you`re a celestrian," the blonde, dark-skinned pixie snapped, "Then we should have no trouble gathering up shiploads of benevolessence at this Stornway place. Big cities mean big trouble, and of course, big rewards! The starflight`ll have to realize you`re the generous article then!"  
"Um, I think the phrase goes-" The fairy sassily turned to her, flipping a strand of hair.  
"Generous articulate! Whatever, it`s all the same!" Phoenix didn`t interject. As captain of the starflight express, Stella could easily shuttle her back to the observatory, but as the heavenly carriage was broken, it would take a little more than willpower to get the train going again. The fairy had a hunch that it would run with a celestrian on board, but the loss of her wings and halo seemed to also entail the loss of some of Phoenix`s celestrain certification. But maybe if the gathered some benevolessence, it may be restored. The stuff did have celestial properties after all. The plan seemed a little sketchy to Phoenix, but as she didn`t have any other ideas, and Stella scared the living daylights out of her, she thought it wisest to go along with it. Besides, she really wanted to see Stornway. Finally reaching the gates to the castle-town, Phoenix took a deep breath, dusted off her wayfarer`s clothes, and took her first step onto the busy cobblestone streets of Stornway. Energy seemed to simply ooze from the town. While Angel Falls radiated cozy and laid-back, Stornway was all about joyful and cheery. And yet, there was something subdued, ominous about how women hung out laundry, men laughed near the pub, and children played marbles and jacks underneath multicolored garlands. Nevertheless, Phoenix grinned broadly, striding to the middle of a bustling square to check a large message board.  
"If there`s anything we can help with, it`s sure to be posted here!" She whispered to Stella, who flitted at her shoulder.  
"Why are you whispering at me?!" she hissed. "Talk about disrespect!"  
"Well, I don`t wanna look crazy, no one can see you!" she spoke under her breath, blushing in embarrassment as a couple teenagers leered at her from the shade of a shop. Quickly approaching the board, she read a poster in the middle, written in crimson ink on parchment. 'Wanted: Heroes!' it read, as Phoenix continued in interest. 'An errant black knight is terrorizing the countryside, with designs on Princess Simona. Any warriors or group of warriors that can put an end to him will be rewarded handsomely. All prospective candidates must report to King Schott at Stornway Castle.' It was concluded by a green, waxy seal.  
"This is perfect!" Stella said. "How better to get gratitude from the whole town than saving the whole town? Let`s go right away!"

A line had formed outside the castle already. Its occupants ranged from villagers with pot lids and what can only be described as "noob armor" to muscular men who looked as though they made a living off of wrestling lions. The small, rather frail girl immediately felt out of place.  
"I`m not sure I can do this...the only thing I`ve slayed is a couple slimes and a teeny saguini!" Phoenix whispered. before the deeply tanned fairy could respond, a man strode out of the castle and across the the drawbridge, a look of malcontent etched on his features. He red hair styled into a mohawk, his eyes of pure violet clashing vividly against them. But even more noticable that that, if possible, was his build. Solid and muscled, the man looked like every adventurer's dream. Phoenix gaped. "THAT man got turned away?!" she whispered incredulously, "I don't have a shot!"  
"Hey, don't complain, that means they aren't looking for muscle! Lucky you." Stella scoffed, her eyes tracing Phoenix's wiry form critically. "Just ask him why he got turned away! If they're being picky, we'll need all the advantage we can get!" The azure haired celestrian paled at the thought of asking this muscular man anything, but as Stella literally started twisting her arm (with her tiny hands, no less,) Phoenix decided it would be wise to swallow her doubt.  
"Hey...! Um, you! Can I ask what happened in there?" As the man turned, turning his lamplike purple eyes on her, she quailed slightly. He squinted incredulously for a second, but quickly recovered, shrugging.  
"They`re looking for parties, so don`t bother. Too many adventurers have died against this knight, so the king`s only accepting groups of 4. I wanted to help, but I don`t exactly have a party..." Stella yanked on Phoenix`s short pastel hair, which probably looked incredibly strange if you couldn`t see the fairy, but the red haired man didn`t even flinch. Either way, the young celestrian got the hint.  
"You could come with us! We wanna fight the knight too!" His eyes flickered up and down. Phoenix inwardly sighed, assuming he was noticing her distinct lack of muscle. But apparently that wasn`t the case at all.  
"Us?" he said, surprisingly indifferent, although it seemed to be characteristic of him. "You already have some party members?" Phoenix blushed deeply. She had screwed up. Well, only one way out.  
"Yeah, I`ve got another member!" He raised his eyebrows.  
"What vocation are they?" 'Think, think, think...'  
"A mage!"  
"And you`re a minstrel? Well, I`m a warrior, so that`s pretty balanced. Sounds all right, I guess." he said in what seemed to be his trademark stoic voice. "I`ll meet you guys at the inn at 7, we can get everything sorted out then. We`ll need another member too." And just like that, he turned and walked towards the church, indifferent to the nervous wreck he left behind.  
"What am I gonna do, Stella?!" she hiccupped, "I`ve gotta find a mage by 7! Those guys aren`t common!"  
"Geez, don`t get your thigh-highs in a twist! We`ll ask around! This is a castle town, there`s all sorts of that fantasy mumbo-jumbo around here!" So she said. And yet, as the sun waned past midday, they still hadn`t found a single mage.  
"Well," said a teenaged boy dressed in frayed shirt and trousers, "There`s a town north of here that`s known for training mages. Called Zere. Big bloomin` tree in the middle. You can`t miss it."  
"How far away is that?" Phoenix asked desperately. The boy scratched the back of his head. "About two or three hours, I guess."  
"Thank you!" Phoenix shot back, scurrying away. Whispering gleefully to Stella, she said, "If we use a chimera wing for the return trip we could probably make it!"

Oh, the tree was blooming, all right. Literally. Cherry blossoms fluttered gently to the ground or into the peaceful pond surrounding it. But Phoenix was on a schedule. Discovering that one of the small cottages served as a mage school of sorts, she shyly opened the door. Inside, students ranging from around seven to seventy spoke in hushed voices. They seemed to be on a break. She cleared her throat. They turned slightly. "E-excuse me, I was wondering if anyone would be interested in joining me party...we`re going to fight a knight that`s worrying Stornway and we need more people..." No response. Only stares. Of course. She couldn`t just stroll up to a mage school like this! Phoenix blushed violently for the second time that day.  
"R-right, well, sorry!" she stumbled out the door. As Stella cursed her poor social skills in her ear, Phoenix sighed, walking up to a shop, hoping that even if she`d have to admit to the red haired warrior that she lied, she could at least get some nice equipment for him to soften the blow. There were about five people ahead of her in line, so she stuck her hands in the pockets she`d torn out of her wayfarer`s clothes to wait. Standing in front of her was a boy who looked about her age. Comparing celestrian years to mortal ones anyway. In all reality, Phoenix was verging on a hundred years old. Very young for a guardian. The boy was slim and tall, with a brownish skintone and dark hair, pretty unusual for the area. The boy noticed her staring and smiled.  
"I like your bandana." Phoenix felt a rush of glee.  
"Really? Thanks!"  
"So, you an adventurer? I`ve never seen you here."  
"I was-okay, well, I was looking for someone to join my party, but it didn`t really work out." His ears seemed to perk up.  
"Yeah? Hey, I`m a pretty mediocre mage, but I`m available." he said, grinning.  
"A mage, really? That`s perfect!" she stopped herself. "But you probably don`t wanna come, I`m gonna fight the knight terrorizing Stornway-"  
"You`re going to Stornway? That works for me. I just wanna get out of this town. Mind if I tag along?" he asked, holding out his hand. Phoenix stared at it.  
"Yeah, sure!" The sat in silence before the boy laughed, a sound like a bell.  
"Are we gonna shake, or not?"  
"Shake?" The dark haired mortal gently grasped Phoenix`s hand, shaking it. A grin broke over her face.  
"Oh! We don`t do that, um, where I`m from."  
"Where are you from?" Phoenix had to improvise.  
"Angel Falls!" He laughed.  
"Okay, angel, what`s your name?"  
"Phoenix! What`s yours?"  
"Aegis, pleasure to meet ya!" Seeing how the line hadn`t moved at all, Aegis smiled apologetically. "Let`s just head to Stornway, shall we?"

Phoenix was thrilled with her luck as she was able to take Aegis to the inn right by seven. Sitting alone was the red haired man. He nodded.  
"This is Aegis, the mage!" she said, brandishing him. They shook, nodding.  
"And you are?" Aegis asked.  
"Raymond. Nice meeting you."  
Sitting down at the table, the three began talking.  
"So, our best bet is probably a healing vocation for our last member." Raymond grumbled good-naturedly.  
"I guess sage is out of the question. Haven`t seen one of those guys in years." Aegis contributed. A commotion at the doorway caused them to turn. A small young lady stood there in the frame, breathing heavily. Long, curly brown hair framed her fair face, set in which glimmered blue eyes. She was short as Phoenix was thin, although her mature features showed that she wasn`t much younger than Phoenix. In a shaky voice, she spoke,  
"I need h-help! A disease has overrun my town! I need experienced priests! Coffinwell`s in danger!" A man called out from a middle table.  
"The king just closed the checkpoint to Coffinwell, sweetheart. He didn`t want the Wight Knight to attack any other areas. You must`ve barely made it, but you probably won`t be able to head back till that menace gets taken care of." The girl paled, and chatter resumed in the inn. Phoenix, feeling terribly guilty, left Aegis and Raymond to talk to the girl. She looked on the verge of tears before Phoenix spoke.  
"Don`t worry! I`m gonna fight the knight, the checkpoint will be open soon!"  
"You will?!" The young lady changed her stature, resolving herself. "Then let me help! I`m not much for fighting, but I`m a decent priest! Please?"

"Meet our new healer!" Phoenix said happily. The girl smiled shyly. "I`m Giselle!" After introductions were exchanged, someone came over who Phoenix hadn`t been expecting to see. "Phoenix!" Erinn exclaimed, "It`s so nice to see you! Wow, you must be pretty tough to get to Stornway so fast! And you`ve made friends!" The bluenette smiled. "I`ll get you some drinks to celebrate!"  
"Thanks, Erinn!" Clinking their mugs together, Phoenix smiled at each of her new party members in turn. The Wight Knight didn`t have a chance!

Again, I`m so sorry for the late upload! ;-; This chapter took forever, but it was a lot of fun! As a sidenote, I don't own either Giselle or Raymond. Many thanks to iamcalifornia and Pyre the Claw-hog respectively for letting me use them! I kinda just came up with Aegis on the fly because I wanted a mage character, so hopefully I can flesh him out sufficiently! There`s gonna be lots of combat next chapter for those who like that, so hype! It`ll be up on Monday, promise. c: Please rate and review if you enjoyed, (although I don`t really deserve it since this is 2 days late!) and I`ll see you next time I come back from the dead!


	5. Chapter 5

*cough* Uhhh...what do you mean this was supposed to be done a long time ago? But in all seriousness, I'm really sorry that I've let yet another week slip through my fingers, but we're back on schedule now. Thanks for everyone's understanding, it won't happen again! As a completely unrelated sidenote, some people have been asking me what I meant by "rated T just in case" in the description. That`s mostly just because I`m not really sure how dark I wanna get with this story. If you guys have a preference, let me know, because I`d be happy to adjust it to what you guys like. Additionally, there`ll probably be some side-romance later on, and I`m not sure how far I wanna take that either, although I`m definitely not delving into smut territory, so don`t worry if you`re not into that sorta thing. (I know I`m not!) Additionally, some people have asked me what time zone I live in so the know when to expect updates. I live in the pacific time zone in the US, and upload around 5 o'clock most of the time. Or at least I will be from here on out! Well, there isn`t much else to say, so hope you enjoy!

**If I owned Dragon Quest, I wouldn`t be writing fanfiction about it.**

Phoenix yawned and sat up, rustling her cotton sheets. After a long night talking and laughing with her new party members (Other than Raymond. A pensive smile was the closest thing he gave to a laugh.), they had checked into Stornway`s inn for the night. Getting up and slipping on her azure wayfarer`s clothes over her tank top, Phoenix contemplated the state of her clothing. Although the attire was hardy, it probably wasn`t meant to withstand blows from a hexagoon. The patched and frayed regalia could definitely stand to be replaced. Although she loved her loyal wayfarer`s clothes, the fact stood that there was no way they could beat the wight knight without better armor, perhaps weapons too. Raymond wore some leather armor, cotton trousers, and leather shoes while carrying a soldier`s sword, Aegis had a silk robe, sandals, cotton trousers and an oak staff, while Giselle only had a set of basic, plain clothes and a bamboo spear to her name. And Phoenix hadn`t fared much better. But with her pockets jingling with gold, she woke the others with optimism, ready to go on a little shopping spree.

Giselle twirled about in her new leather dress, wearing a silly piece of hardwood headwear, giggling a bit. Aegis pulled a headband over his copious amount of dark hair, Raymond adjusting a leather hat while running some light drills with a new rapier. Phoenix herself had obtained a leather cape and iron fan, although she refused to get rid of her bandana. They made a rather intimidating group in Phoenix`s opinion, so it was with pride that the group made their way to King Schott`s castle, Giselle and Aegis laughing and joking as Raymond remained semi-stonefaced. A guard greeted the party at the gate.  
"Are you looking for King Schott`s approval to face the Wight Knight? Because otherwise, no visitors."  
"Yep! We need to speak with him!" the blue haired celestrian replied. As they entered the throne room, it was quite obvious that everyone was impressed. Majestic purple walls smothered with tapestries of red and gold lined the magnificent carpet pointing the way to the thrones. Encrusted with gems and enladen with precious metals, they sparkled blindingly. And in two of the three identical thrones sat regal figures that were obviously the queen and king. Clad in ermine and satin, it couldn`t very well have been anyone else. Both were addressing a young lady with long hair and an impressive sea green gown. Obviously the princess.  
"No, no, no!" exclaimed the king, pounding a fist on the arm of his throne for emphasis. No features stood out on him except the beard that rivaled Apus Major`s. "I won`t have it! Imagine me sending my daughter right into his clutches!"  
"Father! He can`t keep terrorizing the town! Just listen-"  
"Never! There`s no need for it! We`ll keep sending out adventurers!" Suddenly, the party seemed to catch the king`s attention. "Ah, see? I`m sure these lovely young men and women would be glad to assist us. What`s your name, lad?" he asked gesturing towards the thickset warrior, possibly because he looked like the leader. "Raymond." he replied stoically. "This is Giselle, Aegis, and Phoenix, our leader." With mild surprise, King Schott started addressing Phoenix.  
"And you`re looking to go after this Wight Knight character? Splendid, splendid! See, my Simona? You see, the brute is after my daughter." Simona's eyes suddenly filled with tears.  
"Father, it's so sad that you never listen to me..." She ran out onto the balcony. King Schott sighed.  
"So high strung...ah, well. You accept, I presume?" With only slight hesitation, Phoenix nodded.

"Lake Schott?" asked Giselle. "I've never heard of it..."  
The four adventurers were tromping across fields of green grass looking for the area that King Schott had recommended they head first.  
"Right there, next to the coast." Aegis said, pointing at the map. "I've been there a couple times." Reaching the cliff flanked valley shrouded in fog, they padded into the marshy depression.  
"Guess he was too scared to show up." Stella said at Phoenix's elbow.  
"Shhh..." the celestrian hushed her.  
"Haha...what a loser..." the fairy said, ignoring her. She then stiffened. "He's right behind me, isn't he...?" A dark horse topped by a midnight plated rider leaped from jagged cliff to jagged cliff, alighting the ground and charging. Lowering his black lance, he slashed at Phoenix. Aegis leaped ahead, intercepting the hit and being knocked aside. With a little squeak, Giselle quickly cast a heal spell and helped him to his feet. Raymond drew his sword, slashing mercilessly at the knight, as Phoenix increased his tension with an egg on dance. Regaining his footing, Aegis cast crack, shards of ice flying to strike the dark warrior. He retaliated with a bolt-cutter slice to Raymond. The sturdy man shrugged of the attack almost entirely leaving Giselle open to mercurial thrust the enemy. Phoenix tried a hot lick, fanning intense flames toward it. Although it didn't do much damage, the distraction allowed Aegis to land a haywire frizz on the Wight Knight, engulfing it even further in flames. Unfortunately for the party, the horse, seemingly undead, was apparently completely unfazed. Raymond scored the blade of his sword once more across the horse's flank, leaving the steed unbothered, but very unsteady. The dark knight seemed to act in frustration, tearing his iron mask clear from is face, revealing bloodred sockets burning with flaming anger set deep into the creature's ashy gray skin. Phoenix gasped, tensing. She was too terrified to dodge the deft strikes as a multithrust pierced her with bone-shattering impact. Slinking weakly to the ground, gasping for breath, Phoenix lay limp. She could feel Giselle's heal spell swiftly mending shattered bones, but she was unable to retaliate and instead had to watch as Aegis and Raymond continued the fight. The dark-haired mage cast a bang spell, which buffeted the very air with small explosions, sending the foe skittering back, only to be caught on the final blow by Raymond's cleverly twisted sword, making a melodious and gratifying impact, as the Wight Knight collapsed.

Dear Diary,  
Today I learned that it is absolutely impossible to write a chapter I'm the slightest bit satisfied with in one week.  
I "finished" this chapter on Wednesday, but unfortunately, it was absolutely terrible. Because of that, I waited until today to upload so that I'll be back on schedule for future chapters. I'm sincerely sorry for the wait, and how after all of that, I still ended up with a very short chapter. Since I'm back on track, I don't anticipate other holdups, but if there may be a delay, I'll be sure to let you know from now on. Thanks for your patience, and for reading, I really appreciate it! c: Maybe rate and review if you enjoyed? Thanks again, and I'll see you next time I come back from the dead.


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